Stroke assessment with intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted MRI

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Neuroimaging
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted MRI offers non-invasive measurement of diffusion and perfusion.
• Accurate characterization of brain diffusion and perfusion is crucial for clinical stroke assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of IVIM in characterizing diffusion and perfusion properties in acute/subacute ischemic stroke patients.
• To compare IVIM parameters between ischemic lesions and normal contralateral brain regions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of multi-b-value diffusion-weighted MRI from 101 acute/subacute ischemic stroke patients.
• Fitting diffusion data using mono-exponential (for D and ADC) and bi-exponential (for IVIM parameters D*, f, fD*) models.
• Statistical analysis including paired Student t-tests and Pearson correlation to compare diffusion parameters between regions.

Main Results:

• IVIM model demonstrated a better fit than the mono-exponential model for diffusion data in both ischemic and normal regions.
• Significant differences were observed in diffusion parameters (D, f, fD*) between ischemic and normal brain areas (P < 0.001), except for D*.
• Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) showed significant positive correlations with D, f, and fD* in both patient and pixel-level analyses.

Conclusions:

• IVIM MRI provides valuable insights into diffusion and perfusion changes in acute/subacute ischemic stroke.
• The significant differences in IVIM parameters highlight its potential for clinical stroke assessment and management.
• IVIM imaging may enhance the understanding and evaluation of stroke pathophysiology.